Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) - A Guest Review by Chad Dixon

This is the third in what Director James Cameron says will be five feature films set in the mid 22nd Century on the alien moon of Pandora. This outing follows on directly from the dramatic events of Avatar: The Way of Water, which was released in 2022 and again concentrates on the Na'vi family of Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) along with their three free-spirited children and adopted human son, Spider.

Still dealing with profound grief after the death of their eldest son Neteyam, their ongoing relationship with Spider (Jack Champion) is getting quite strained, especially as Neytiri feels that as he is the biological son of (hard to kill) Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), he is the reason that the human forces are relentless in going after all of them and generally trying to destroy the Na'vi way of life in their greedy plans to get hold of the rare natural mineral resources on Pandora.

Against the wishes of their children, they decide to take Spider back to the friendly human scientist's base for everyone's future safety. As a compromise, the entire family hitch a ride with a balloon-travelling trader-tribe for the journey but en route, encounter a new, aggressive Na'vi tribe, the Ash People, led by their fierce female chieftain, Varang (Oona Chaplin). During the dramatic air battle, their balloon crashes in the jungle and as they try to escape on foot, Jake's metal automatic rifle falls into the hands of Verang who immediately feels it's a weapon that her and tribe must get a lot more of.

At 3 hours and 17 minutes, this film would definitely be considered on the long side but the story keeps moving at a nice pace so I certainly didn't feel bored. Empathy was flowing in all the right places as the script was much more engaging than the last film's. I'm not sure if motion capture technology used has improved since 2022 but I think that the expressiveness of the all the Na'vi faces are much more emotion-filled this time.

That point is illustrated best by Chaplin, who steals every scene that her character is in, with the most expressive performances - and with the unexpected relationship she develops with Lang, now permanently transposed into a Na'vi avatar body himself, the intensity is ramped up to eleven! His motivation involves ever more maverick attempts to try to capture the "traitor", Jake, and re-engage with his estranged son, Spider. I also have to mention the stunning topographical visuals of the multiple locations we are taken to, with all their amazing alien flora and fauna, which again are a critical part of the landscape of this franchise.

Of course, the ongoing war between the human colonists and the indigenous Na'vi is what this franchise is mostly known for and although they feel a bit relentless after, now, three films, the choreography of these particular battles have escalated to a believable level and happily, took up just about the right amount of screen time. The character development of the core family and their other Na'vi friends was what mostly I'll remember this time as it reminded me much more of the experience I felt after seeing the first film in 2009. I'll point out now that unlike that time, I didn't go to see the 3D version, which is widely available - but it was still very entertaining and much better than I was expecting!

The Long Walk (2025)

This is now starting to creep into streaming services now in the UK and I thought I'd give it a go. I haven't read Stephen King's book but it seems that from those who have, this film adaptation meanders someway off the writing and many are not pleased.

The backdrop is a USA now under a military regime - a repressive police state, where the government exerts strict control. Civil liberties are severely curtailed. People can be executed for expressing outspoken political opinions against the government and the country is suffering from a severe economic depression. The Long Walk contest organised by the government is a way to inspire patriotism and a strong work ethic in the public.

One hundred teenage boys are selected via a lottery to compete. They must walk continuously along a pre-arranged route. They must maintain a pace over 3mph. If anyone drops below the speed for a specified time, they receive a verbal warning from the armed soldiers escorting them. After three warnings, the next one results in the boy being shot dead. The single boy who lasts the longest wins a large cash prize and the fulfillment of any one wish he desires for the rest of his life. The event is highly publicised and watched by spectators who line the route, turning the state-sponsored murder into a major source of entertainment and betting. This is one of the aspects apparently in the book and not the film, which is almost all set along country roads away from spectators.

King began writing it in the late 1960s, and it was widely considered an allegory for the Vietnam War and the military draft - reflecting anxieties about young men being arbitrarily chosen and sent off to a brutal, often fatal, experience by an unquestionable authority.

So yes, that's about it really. During the walk we get to know the characters and the reasons why they have volunteered to be a part of this - often not just about money. There are one or two flashbacks but the cameras stay mainly with the walkers and a huge part of the film is dialogue driven - interspersed with brutal killings of, yes, you guessed it, 99 of the young men. Much of it is about regret and loss, opportunity and revenge but mostly friendship and the meaning of that - so entrenched, that at times it starts to feel a little like a soap opera!

But it's not - it's more like a thriller in a sense, except that we pretty much know what is going to happen - because it has to. That's the point. Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson are engaging in the main two leads, surrounded by quirky characters, often annoying, sometimes sweet and moreover experiencing changes of priorities and life/death outlook as they face their end against the 100:1 odds. The pace is pushed along by the pace of the walking and it never feels, unlike the walkers, tired or laboured.

The photography and direction (Francis Lawrence) are well thought through as we have various interesting well-shot close-ups of the killings and out of focus long-shots too - as we trundle along the road with the guys. It's an odd film really. I guess one can look deeply into it, given the above regarding who wrote it, when it was written and what the drive for the story was - but it can also be taken at face value of some futuristic game-to-the-death like Squid Game or the like. Quite entertaining, therefore - and thought-provoking for those who wish to muse.

The Dam (2025)

This Ukrainian horror/thriller/zombie film comes across as pure anti-Russia, anti-Soviet propaganda! At every turn, opportunity is taken to poke, prod and belittle the country, this shot during the continuing latter's occupation of the former. I'll leave debate regarding that situation for other commentators. Apparently this film was made for only half a million dollars, quickly, in the war zone - so kudos for that.

Cold-hearted and stoney faced Mara, Maryna Koshkina (Oxana, The Forgotten), leads a crack Ukrainian military team into underground spaces which have been uncovered as a result of Russian forces blowing up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Dam (apparently a true event from 2023).

There, in secret Soviet bunkers under the dam, she is trying to find her long-lost brother. Made tricky (as we head into fantasy, not fact) by the place being full of zombies, created by Russian projects to create physically super-human and psychically capable soldiers - male and female!

The idea being that the super strong males can crush enemies like a Godzilla and the females can 'think' dreadful things to happen to them with it coming true! We do see much of this all happening later in the film as it goes into bonkers territory! Given that small budget, the zombie creatures actually look pretty good and well-imagined. I wouldn't say particularly scary, but quite well-done - as our crack team discover that a bullet through the head kills them once and for all. Trouble is that there are more of them than they have bullets for, so cunning strategy is needed too!

In the middle of this they find a nerdy and somewhat comic Russian scientist who has been responsible for the experiments, so they give him a hard time (as you'd imagine) but keep him alive as hostage to be their guide through the maze of bunker corridors and levels. He takes the opportunity, whilst not gagged, to explain what he was up to and how great Russia is/was and how what they have been doing is right and justified. The team soon get fed up with that!

It all sounds a bit bonkers - and to large degree it is - macho-men with huge guns, zombies being taken out left, right and centre (and later on 'exploded' by thought, which is fun) and all set to in-your-face rock music! But actually, I really quite enjoyed it. You'd have to be in the right mood of course, few beers, but the 1 hour and 40 minutes flew by as director Alexey Taranenko keeps viewers on their toes, edge of the seat, wondering what on earth is likely to be around the next corner!

Built to a budget, so don't expect spankingly good special effects, but what they have done here with the money and under difficult circumstances is really very impressive. The pacing of the action is good, the script is alright, the storyline bozo (of course) and actors (none of whom I know) seem to certainly do a decent-enough job. All good fun, but yes, there certainly is a hard-line message behind it which it pulls no punches in putting out there.

Dracula: A Love Story (2025)

It was hard for me not to compare this from start to finish with what I considered to be the masterpiece of the genre/story in the shape of Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula from 1992. I loved this film and revisit it regularly. The wonderful cast, beautifully imagined telling, Gary Oldman playing a sumptuous Dracula, the gorgeous Winona Ryder as Mina/Elizabeta and to top it all, Anthony Hopkins flaring it up as Van Helsing. It's a tall order to top that!

It's a similar interpretation of the story, though it does meander off on different paths here and there. I haven't read the book so have no idea which is more faithful to it. There's no doubt that Christoph Waltz (Big Eyes, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained) (who can do no wrong in my book) carries the film as the priest in pursuit, but I'm afraid that Zoë Bleu is no Winona! Still the core cast, including Caleb Landry Jones (Finch) as the Count, do a decent and engaging job as they convince us of their roles. I think that Matilda De Angelis, camping it up as Maria, certainly stole the show in her scenes, too!

So yes, Vlad the Impaler (otherwise known as Dracula)'s wife dies in the 15th century while he's out in battle, he blames their god for allowing that to happen, smashes the place up, kills the Bishop and in doing so gets himself a curse of becoming a vampire and not being able to die. So now we leap forward 400 years and join him in his Romanian gothic castle as (not quite so dreary as 1992 Keanu Reeves') Jonathan arrives to conduct a property deal, leaving his fiancée Mina back at home waiting for him, wondering what's happened to her new friend Maria. We first see Dracula here and, sorry, but Landry Jones is not a patch on Gary Oldman's creation. He's not bad. Just not anywhere near as scary, dark, mad-looking and shudder-inducing!

The hapless Jonathan starts yakking with Dracula over dinner, he's sent to his bedroom for the night, told not to come out, does come out of course, and ends up in a rather tricky situation with Dracula about to drain him! However, Dracula is coaxed into sharing his life story as a 'last request' for Jonathan and sees the picture of Mina in his locket. Immediately Dracula sees that she is the image of Elizabeta, assumes it's her reincarnated, and heads for London to track her down.

Meanwhile, Christoph Waltz as the priest is busy fighting the demon (vampiric as it turns out) in Mina's new friend Maria in the dungeon of an asylum-looking hospital. The priest knows what's what, Maria knows what's what, so they dance the merry tune together taunting each other as she's chained up and can't move - waiting for her 'master' to arrive. Think Renfield in the 1992 film. So anyway, Dracula turns up and we head towards sorting out the mess - with a return visit to the castle in Romania to tie up the loose ends!

Director Luc Besson (Leon, Nikita) is clearly having great fun with the material and also penned the adaptation himself for this outing - with a runtime of just over 2 hours. It's done very well and if I wasn't such a fan of the 1992 version, I'm sure I'd have been even more bowled over with it. He's made the visuals lavish, sets gothic, characters interesting, thrills and horror chilling at times - and special effects, well, effective! The cinematography is richly layered with colours, shadows and lighting creating just the atmosphere he was after.

I did think that the pacing was a bit off and editing a little clipped as we often leapt from country to country, setting to setting in a blink of an eye with little context of the events en route. However, that's nit-picking because it's edge-of-seat stuff often, emotionally charged and the romance/love story/tragedy wrapper at times was sad and moving. I really enjoyed it. I do think that it's not as good as the 1992 version, but it was great fun to watch and the time flew in the process. Recommended.

If you haven't seen the 1992 one, watch this first, then that! It's rolling out today on limited streaming services from 1st December 2025 in the UK. SkyTV, Amazon and Apple first, by the looks of it. And for money. Or vouchers/tokens of course. Or you could always go the the cinema or wait for the DVD just before xmas.

Bugonia (2025)

Yorgos Lanthimos has served us up with some cracking arthouse over the years and this new one is no exception to the Greek's genius! The most recent one I saw was Poor Things (2023) but before that loads more including Kinds of Kindness (2024), The Favourite (2018), The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017), The Lobster (2015) and possibly my favourite, Dogtooth (2009). Bugonia reunites Jesse Plemons with Emma Stone, together in Kinds of Kindness. On top of that, Emma Stone has featured in The Favourite and Poor Things - so it's clear that the director likes to use the pair of them.

Bugonia apparently comes from an ancient Greek term bougoníā, which was the practice and belief that bees were spontaneously generated from the carcass of a dead ox or bull. And this is kind of where we start, in the company of Plemons' disturbed character Teddy and his apparently intellectually challenged cousin, Don (Aidan Delbis), tending to their bee hives in the garden of their rural home somewhere in the USA. Teddy seems to be obsessed with colony collapse disorder (CCD) and the supposed end of life on Earth and Don - well, tags along!

Teddy comes across as a conspiracy theorist, living out of his basement having studied the above data and believes that there is a spaceship out there somewhere planting their species on earth to destroy it - and the human race. Skip to Stone's character, Michelle, stomping her way through becoming the best businesswoman on the planet, face on Forbes Magazine, highly successful, rich and taking no prisoners in terms of corporate efficiency. The Queen Bee in Teddy's frame of reference and in parallel with his beekeeping activity.

Talking of which, Teddy has cooked up a plan to take her as prisoner as he truly believes that she is an alien from the mothership out there, here to do the deed, destroying everyone. So the pair of them grab her on her way home from work one day, chain her up in their basement and Teddy, the brains, starts to challenge and provoke her into admitting that she is an alien and recording a confession and message on a digital recorder. With this he intends to get an audience with her 'Emperor' on said mothership - on the next lunar eclipse, in 3 days - to negotiate their surrender.

The interrogation at times gets out of hand as he shaves her head (hair being used to connect with her species, Teddy says), and much worse as she flatly refuses to admit the allegations. At one point, in order to escape, she does record an admission - but then Teddy refuses to accept it as it is clearly in English, not what should be her language. The battle goes on, sometimes getting bloody as Teddy gets more frustrated with her, and he, him - and the situation she finds herself in - apparently dealing with a fruit-loop with whom it's impossible to negotiate.

Then there's Teddy's mum who is in the care of Michelle's organisation, having been kept alive for the last 5 years following an incident in which her company seems to have been responsible for allowing it to happen. Teddy loves his mum and holds Michelle and her firm responsible. Then there's the local Bobby who, as it turns out, used to be Teddy's babysitter - and there was some sort of incident between them back in the day, which he demonstrates much remorse over now. So some threads to suggest that Teddy's after simple revenge for all sorts of stuff relating to control and power over other people's lives from the past.

The two hour runtime simply flies past as we watch open-eyed at most of what is going on, trying to put pieces of the puzzle together and predict an outcome - which I won't spoil here! It's a great thrill ride though, so keep alert and hold onto your hats! You can dig as deep as you like really with all these strings to the storyline and have fun putting it together in amongst the dark, grizzly but sometimes comic delivery.

Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons are fabulous throughout - the best - and it's worth seeing for their performances alone. But there's more, as we'd expect from this director as the cinematography, sound and direction are fabulous. It's a wonderful work of art and now available on Amazon Prime Video as I write. Don't miss it! Addendum I've now discovered that it's an adaptation of Jang Joon-hwan's Korean film, Save the Green Planet! (2003) so I shall be hunting that down next!

PodHubUK Podcasts for the Month of November 2025

 

...a roundup of our month of podcasting. Links to the team, communities and podcast homes on the net at the foot, so scroll down!

Whatever Works

Episode 233 - The Coddle Wobble!
Tuesday 4th November

Aidan and I are here again to taunt you with codswallop for an hour as we find out, as usual, Whatever Works for us and you! From Polka Dots to Tweezers, Withings to Victorinox, Millwall to Sellotape, Cadbury's to Coddled Eggs and even Saga to Sage - something for everyone, so what are you waiting for? It's now out there in the usual places, so make haste and cut along!

The Camera Creations Podcast

Episode 10 - Workshops

Wednesday 5th November

Chris C, Chris K, Joe, Charlie, Ian and I are back to natter for an hour or so about all things photography and cameras. This time we have a dive into the theme of workshops, pros and - certainly - cons! Time to have a look at what's in the news and to scoop up some rumours, have a close look at everyone's photos from the last fortnight and plenty more as we dodge the crash/bangs of fireworks outside!

The Phones Show Chat Podcast

Episode 873 - The Pub Club!

Monday 10th November

Joe and I are joined this week by David Hewitt this time as we natter with him about his path through mobile from the Nokia 8210 to Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7! We also have an audio report from last week's Grand 2025 PSC Pub Meet from Jeremy Harpham, Chad Dixon, Charlie, Anthony Daniels and Mike Robins. Hic! Loads more as always - tons of releases coming out of the far-east to lust over, Joe is flipping and folding, I'm lingering between Pixel 9 and Honor 400 Pro and as usual, we have the POTW.

Projector Room

Episode 197 - The Hand that Rusts the Cradle
Wednesday 12th November

Gareth, Allan and I are back once more with a bumper crop of all things film, cinema and TV. This time we hang out in a Casino with some Goodfellas, ponder on The Hand That Rocks the Cradle remake, head for an Audition in Lake Placid, have One Battle After Another with Frankenstein and round things up with a great Coming Soon selection!

The Camera Creations Podcast

Episode 11 - Macro Photography

Wednesday 19th November

Chris C, Charlie, Ian and I are joined this week by Ed Hause who takes a close focus for us on all things Macro Photography! Plenty of time for other stuff too, including a trip to Devil's Dyke, Big Ben, Automated Motor Racing, news, gear and catchups - including an introduction to Zebra Patterning!

The Phones Show Chat Podcast

Episode 87345- The Titan Brick!

Monday 24th November

Joe and I are joined this time by Jim Fowl who chats with us about the wide array of 'fringe' phones in which he is interested. And it's infectious! The Titan 2, Bigme E Ink, NxtPaper, Boox - all interesting stuff. And still time for a quirky Indie Phone, lots of Honor 500 chat, Joe's initial thoughts on the Nothing Phone 3 and loads more. Get stuck in, I say!

Projector Room

Episode 198 - Locked Lazarus
Wednesday 26th November

Gareth, Allan and I are back again with another feast of film, clutch of cinema and trough of TV! This time, The Beast in Me is a Baby Driver at World's End, Meat Kills The Opportunists in front of us and we've even Captured a Geostorm while chasing The Running Man! Loads more as always, so do join us!

The Podcasts (PodHubUK)

Phones Show Chat - Whatever Works - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - Tech Addicts - Camera Creations

The MeWe Community Groups (follow the links to join up)
Phones Show Chat - Whatever Works - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - PSC Photos - PSC Videos - PSC Classifieds - PSC Health - Coffee Time - Camera Creations - Tech Addicts

The Team
Ted Salmon - Steve Litchfield - Aidan Bell - Gareth Myles - Allan Gildea - Joe Hickey - Chris Clayton - Ian Bundey - Chris Kelly - Charlie Winston

The Holdovers (2023) - A Guest Review by Chad Dixon

Nearly twenty years after collaborating with the ever versatile, Paul Giamatti with Sideways (2004), Director Alexander Payne brings us The Holdovers (2023), now available to stream on Netflix.

Cynical and sardonic Classical History Teacher Paul Hunham (Giamatti), draws the short straw and is instructed at short notice by the Headmaster to be the designated faculty chaperone for the festive recess. Also staying over at Barton Academy is Mary Lamb (Da'Vine Joy Randolph), The Cafeteria Manager, who is still in mourning from the tragic loss of her 20 year old son and Barton alumnae in the Vietnam War. Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa) becomes the third stayover boarder. The four other remaining students get whisked off by one of their fathers in a helicopter at the last minute, when he comes to collect his sport-obsessed son.

As the fortnight painfully plods on, the walls slowly start to come down between the angst-ridden, but decently academic Tully and the teacher and subject he initially hates the most in Hunham. The grating unease is soothed somewhat by the freshly-cooked hot meals provided by straight talking Mary.

The stark and massively empty school campus seems like an excruciatingly lonely place, but soon there are a few changes of location. A Christmas Eve party at the Headmaster's Assistant, Miss Lydia Crane's, house (Carrie Preston) - and a 'field trip' to Boston for some historical museum crawling (while Mary stays with her pregnant sister). Oh and watch out for an incredibly cringeworthy scene at a local hospital.

I really enjoyed this straightforwardly told story. By the look and feel, it could easily have been made in the era in which it is set. A beautifully-paced and brilliantly-written tale of three very different souls, whose individual family circumstances threw them together at a prestigious all-male New England boarding school over the extremely snowy Christmas holidays of 1970. Wonderfully played by all and definitely deserving of the many plaudits it has already received.